Leading youth advocate warns we are criminalising childhood trauma

Commissioner for Children and Young People Liana Buchanan said the rates — which increased the younger the child — confirmed the majority of young people in the youth justice system were themselves “victims of child abuse and maltreatment”.

“We are, in many cases, criminalising childhood trauma,” she said.

“If we really want a safer community, we need to invest more in supports to keep children safe and help them recover after abuse.”

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s report revealed a staggering 94 per cent of 10 year-olds under youth justice supervision had been involved with child protection, while half of all kids in detention were the subject of a “substantiated” report of neglect or abuse.

National data found 70 per cent of kids in youth detention had “interacted” with the child protection system. File photo.

Involvement was defined as a child who had been in out-of-home care, under a protection order or child protection investigation, and the AIHW found the percentage in the youth justice system was higher than previous estimates.

The institute examined the 9068 kids under youth justice supervision – meaning community based supervision, such as bail, or in a detention centre – in the 2022-2023 financial year.

They found 65 per cent of them had interacted with the child protection system in the past decade, with those sentenced to detention recording a slightly higher rate of 70 per cent.

More than a quarter of the kids had interactions in the last 12 months.

Liana Buchanan has warned in many cases we are criminalising childhood trauma. Picture: Jason Edwards

Some children under a youth justice supervision were more at risk than others, and 76 per cent of female and First Nations kids, and 83 per cent of young female First Nations kids, had a history with child protection.

But the report found the “likelihood of involvement with the child protection system fell steadily as the age of a young person’s first supervision rose”.

“Those aged 17, or 18 and over, at their first supervision were the least likely to have had an involvement with the child protection system – 46 per cent and 37 per cent, respectively,” it found.

On the flip side, 84 per cent of kids who were aged 10 to 13-years-old – including 94 per cent for age 10 – at the time of their first youth justice supervision had a history with child protection.

More than one in four kids in detention had been in out-of-home care, almost half of whom had five or more placements.

The report flagged previous research, which found three-quarters of young people “had not offended before being placed in out-of-home care.”